The Cape Town International Convention Center was lit up with
colourful banners and rousing worship as thousands of Christians
gathered on Sunday for the closing ceremony of Cape Town 2010, the Third
Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation.
It marked the end of a week of presentations and discussions among
some 4,500 Christians on the most urgent issues confronting the church
and mission today.
In the final speech of the Congress, International Director of
Lausanne Lindsay Brown dismissed the pressure from secularists to
confine faith to the private sphere as he challenged Christians to
penetrate every area of society with the Gospel and extend the lordship
of Christ.
“We’re called to bear witness to Jesus Christ with all that we are,
in every area of the world geographically, to the ends of the globe, as
well as to every sphere of society.
“We must recommit ourselves therefore to the lordship of Christ in every area of human activity.”
He spoke of his hope for many fruitful partnerships to issue from the
Congress and encouraged Christians to avoid duplication and wastage by
working across denominational and organisational lines.
“In a needy and broken world we cannot afford to be driven by a
spirit of competition. Such a spirit must give way to a spirit of
partnership,” he said.
“We need a new generation of evangelical statesmen and women who are driven by their commitment to the cause of Christ.”
Rather than a reliance on money or the right kind of technology, he
stressed the need to rely on the greatness of the Gospel to accomplish
the task of reaching the world.
Echoing theologian Chris Wright’s call for integrity earlier in the
Congress, Brown urged Christians to match their speech with their
actions.
“The word of truth has to be backed up by authentic, transformed,
joyful lives,” he said. “We [must] demonstrate holy lives before a
watching world.”
He ended his address with a call to Christians to persevere in their
service towards the Great Commission, even where there was a chance that
the fruits of their labour would not be borne in their lifetime.
“The word of God takes root slowly. We have to take the long view
and not give up, and fulfil the ministry God has given us,” he said.
The closing ceremony was presided over by the Archbishop of Uganda,
the Most Rev Henry Orombi, and assisted by the Chair of Lausanne Doug
Birdsall.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Birdsall said evangelicals
had “regained a sense of confidence and nerve” through the Congress.
He said there had been a “great sense of joy” among delegates in
being able to see the magnitude of the church in the world and the
number of younger leaders emerging in the evangelical community.
“[Cape Town 2010] was not a moment. This is part of an ongoing movement,” he said.
Delegates from the UK were upbeat about the impact of the Congress on global evangelicalism.
Steve Clifford, General Director of the UK Evangelical Alliance said
he had been encouraged to see the church in all its diversity.
He said the delegates needed time to reflect on everything that had taken place during the Congress.
“The great thing about this Congress is that I have experienced
exposure to the world church. I see that the church is alive and
kicking. The rumours that the church is dead are misguided.”
Graham Archer, vicar of Highfield Church in Southampton, said he had
been exposed to the ‘big picture’ in a way that he had never been
before.
He said: “I feel challenged by the general mood and morale in
England. I want to take back a desire to encourage others to celebrate
the good things that we have. We have got a lot to be thankful for and
we’re not always good at that.”
During the week, Christians heard about the most pressing challenges
facing the world church, including atheism, Bible poverty, persecution,
and the prosperity gospel.
Clifford welcomed the appeal from theologian Chris Wright for integrity among Christians.
“We’ve all got to look at ourselves and how we conduct ourselves in
our work and our ministries – not just talk about integrity but model
integrity. Chris Wright’s call for integrity could be the prophetic
challenge of the conference,” he said.
The final day of the Congress saw the release of part one of the Cape
Town Commitment, a statement on the nature and mission of the church in
the 21st century.
It declares that “world evangelisation is the outflow of God’s love
to us and through us” and affirms that Jesus alone is Saviour.
Part two of the statement, the call to action, will be formulated in
the coming weeks based on the responses from delegates at the Congress
and the thousands more who participated online through the ‘GlobaLink’
sites.
The Cape Town Commitment has been welcomed by delegates at the
Congress. Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General of the World
Evangelical Alliance, said it offered Christians an opportunity for
reflection and engagement with the key issues facing the church and
world evangelisation.
“We believe that the Cape Town statement is a great resource that
provides a historical context and identifies prevailing issues whilst
reflecting on the current reality across our globe,” he said.
“This thoughtful document can provide a strong theological reflection
for the church as we engage in our commitment to see God’s kingdom
extended in every nation.”
Delegates at the Cape Town Congress and those who joined through the
GlobaLink sites are expected to take part in regional meetings in the
coming months to discuss the outcomes of the Congress and how
evangelicals can continue to work closely with one another in world
evangelisation.
Lausanne is planning to hold larger Davos-style meetings of evangelicals every two years.
SIC: CT/INT'L